Originally Posted by Matt L

Americans also tend to own multiple cars. How many do you own?

Not that 35MPG average isn't overly optimistic.

But I don't agree with your assessment of the impact of electric vehicles. People with electric vehicles will be more likely to charge them on a timer, and buy power at demand rates. What that means is charging the car in the middle of the night, when the plants have tons of excess capacity.

Sure, burning coal pollutes the atmosphere. But your very tiny (by comparison) gasoline engine is also very inefficient and does not have nearly as good of pollution controls. You're wasting a lot of energy burning gasoline in your car. It would be more efficient to build a huge gasoline-powered electrical plant and charge your car with it. So much more efficient that it would cost you less, and there would be a WHOLE LOT of profit generated along the way.